


Safe Haven

by RomaReads



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Bodyguard, Bodyguard Shiro (Voltron), Gang Member Keith, Gangs, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Shiro has to give Keith some first aid, dubious medical care, nothing too graphic though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:13:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29364543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomaReads/pseuds/RomaReads
Summary: Shiro's mandatory day off is interrupted, as the one man he can't get off of his mind stumbles into his home, dishevelled and bleeding.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	Safe Haven

**Author's Note:**

> The first fic I've ever posted! Leave a kudos if you enjoyed! This was originally a threadfic on twitter, and isn't beta-read, so feel free to leave a comment if you spot any typos/errors.  
> Content warning for some surgical sutures/stitching, and general mention of some blood.  
> I can also add tags if anybody requests them (as I said, I'm new to this so I'm unsure what I should tag).

Shiro was having a night in. He was taking a rare day-off, forced upon him by Keith who claimed he worked 'too hard'.

"I wouldn't have to work so hard if you were a little more cautious" he had told Keith.

But in reality Keith WAS cautious, and Shiro just had an unusually strong protective streak for him. He knew Keith could hold his own in a fight, and he knew that the other bodyguards assigned to him were competent, but he still felt on-edge when Keith was out of his line of sight. Keith liked to tease him about this, sometimes pretending to be hurt or in need of assistance but would then turn around with a big smile on his face and ask Shiro for something innocuous. Back massages were his favourite go to - they gave him a good excuse to moan and groan and drive Shiro up the wall with the sounds he could make. Shiro blushed now just thinking about it, recalling how the last time Keith had decided to tease him like this, he had needed to take a break to 'calm' himself. He tried to return his mind to the present by reminding himself that Keith was simply "-at a bar, Shiro, just grabbing some drinks. Regris will be guarding me tonight. You have nothing to worry about."

Shiro sighed. Keith was right. 

"He will be fine. I should get some rest."

Shiro tried his best to do so, heading to his room and curling up with his cat, Atlas.

* * *

Shiro awoke later in the evening, the last dregs of his dream slipping away from him. The quite moans of his name, whispered by Keith under the pumping bass of a club's music, slipping away from his consciousness. Wiping a hand over his face, he rolled over and tried to return to sleep. But the thumping bass didn't fully leave him, and the quiet "Shiro... ughhnn.. Shiro please..." persisted. Shiro opened his eyes, sitting up slightly to see Atlas facing his door, ears alert. It took a few short moments to realise that the sounds were actually quite real, originating from his front door. Shiro stepped out of his bed and headed over to let Keith in. Approaching the door and opening it, he started "Keith, you know it's not safe to go walking around so late when you're drunk like this. Don't expect any sympathy from me on my-"

As Shiro opened the door, he expected a slightly dishevelled, utterly devastating Keith on his doorstep. Maybe a popped open shirt button, or his hair messed up from running his hand through it one too many times.

Instead he came face to face with a slightly dishevelled, utterly devastating Keith, who was currently clutching at a dripping wound from his right shoulder. His shirt had been ripped open, and his hair certainly was a mess, but clearly from engaging in a fight.

"I'm sorry.. I know it's your day off." Keith grunted, before stumbling forwards into Shiro's arms. Shiro was immediately on high alert, wrapping himself around Keith as if to protect him from further harm and leading him into his apartment. He check his surroundings before turning inside and bolting the door firmly shut. 

"Fuck, Keith, what happened?" Shiro said, lifting Keith into his arms and carrying him through the apartment towards his bathroom.

"Macidus and his boys didn't appreciate my presence in his bar." Keith responded from where he had turned his face into Shiro's neck.

"Regris?" Shiro inquired.

"Not sure... he helped me get out and stayed to fight back... I hope he isn't-"

"I'm sure he will be able to get out safe." Shiro reassured him, before depositing Keith on the vanity and reaching for first aid.

"I didn't know where else to go. I'm sorry Shiro, I might have just exposed your house." Keith apologised, his head tilting back to rest against the mirror.

"I wouldn't have you anywhere else, not hurt like this. Gun shot? I need to know what I'm dealing with to help you." Shiro tried to meet Keith's eyes, keep him engaged in the conversation.

"Someone got me with a kitchen knife." Keith gasped, drawing air between his teeth.

Shiro hissed - no bullet to try and dig out, but a larger wound. "Sorry Keith. It's going to take me longer, and you'll be out of business for a while." Shiro looked up to Keith with sympathy, and Keith gave him a short nod before closing his eyes and setting his jaw. Shiro retrieved the rubbing alcohol and gave Keith a short "this will be bad" before starting to gently peal clothes from the wound, and dabbing away the blood and sweat. 

Keith hissed and groaned, and Shiro thought how awful these sounds were, immediately wishing Keith had just come to tease him like normal. Shiro continued to treat Keith, trying to calm and sooth him as he went, but Keith wasn't fully listening. By the time Shiro reached for the sewing equipment, Keith was panting, eyes half open and glazed over with pain. Shiro tried to find a balance between effectively sewing Keith's wound, and working as quickly as possible. When he was finally done, Keith was exhausted, leaning into Shiro as he helped Keith down from the vanity, removed his suit, and found Keith an older (smaller) pair of his clothes. 

Shiro picked up Keith again in order to carry him to his bed, retrieving him a glass of water and painkillers, before tucking him into his sheets. Atlas followed, gently jumping up beside Keith and deciding that next to his head on the pillow was the ideal position, before curling up and starting to purr. Keith cracked open his eyes, and they fell upon Shiro sitting as a silent vigil over Keith in the chair by his bed. A tired, trusting expression passed over Keith's face, before sleep took him. Shiro found Keith's hand in the darkness, slipping his fingers between Keith's.

'No more days off', Shiro thought, 'If I can protect him from this, I will never take another day off for the rest of the time that we have together.'

Shiro lifted Keith's hand slightly, gently placing a kiss on the back of his hand, before turning his head towards the door, and settling into his post for the night.

* * *

Keith woke in stages. First, he became aware of warmth, bone deep and satisfying. Secondly, he became aware of purring, close to his is ear and deep in pitch. Finally, he became aware of gentle pressure on his hand, resting upon the bedsheets. Keith glanced to his side, to find his hand resting gently within Shiro's. Shiro, who was sitting by the bed, watching the door to his room, and looking like he hadn't slept at all. 

"Shiro, you shouldn't have stayed up -" He made movements to sit up, before wincing as his shoulder protested strongly to the idea. "Ahh, fuck that's bad."

At this stage Shiro's head had whipped around to him, and his spare hand was held out in a placating gesture, trying to ease Keith back into lying down.

"Yes, I did need to stay up. You weren't doing too hot last night, and you said you weren't sure if you were followed." Shiro stated once he had made sure the pillows were supporting Keith's head.

"Not too hot? I thought I was always hot.." Keith tried at a friendly joke, but the look that passed over Shiro's face made him regret it.

"Keith... I - god, I won't lie, it was terrifying," Shiro pitched forwards to press his face to their hands. "There was a lot of blood, and you-" 

"Hey hey hey, Shiro, I'm ok now. You looked after me. You knew what to do and you helped me. I'm safe now, with you." Keith lifted his other hand to run through Shiro's hair. 'It's so soft' he thought. Shiro stayed for a few moments longer before quickly trying to wipe away his tears without Keith noticing (he failed), and lifting his head.

'God, he's gorgeous, and I frightened him so badly' Keith thought.  
'God, he's gorgeous, and I left them hurt him so badly' Shiro chastised himself.

Shiro squeezed Keith's hand before pushing back his chair and standing. "I'm sure you're hungry after last night. Let me cook you something", and he walked out the door before adding "Oh, I contacted Kolivan. Regris is ok. He said everything is under control, but it's probably best for you to lay low for a while. I hope you don't mind being holed up with me." There was a self-depreciating tone to his voice that Keith didn't appreciate. 

"You know I'm more than happy to stay with you." 'Always' was the unspoken conclusion to this statement. Keith took a moment to breathe, to fully relax. 'Regris is ok. I didn't leave him to die. Regris is ok'.

Then Keith added "Oh wait, Kolivan? Shit" before sighing. In unison the two spoke: "My mum knows now" and "Your mum will know". There was some quiet laughter from the pair. 'I will call her later to reassure her, unless she breaks into Shiro's home to check for herself' Keith noted.

Before long, Shiro returned with another glass of water, and more painkillers ("You can take these now, food wont be too far behind."). Keith sat up in bed and diligently swallowed the meds, waiting a while for them to kick in as he listened to Shiro putter around the kitchen. Atlas eventually moved from the pillows to curl on Keith's lap, his hand naturally falling into place upon her and stroking down her black and white fur. Keith was just starting to dose off again (the painkillers working wonders) when Shiro stepped back into the room, arms full of a tray holding food and-

"Coffee~" Keith purred. As he reached for his mug (Shiro kept a special mug just for him: black, but which revealed a swirling red and purple pattern upon heating) Shiro's oversized shirt slipped from his shoulder.

Shiro made a slight sound of.. choking? Distress? And so Keith quickly readjusted the shirt. 

"Sorry, it's probably not too nice to look at." He said into his mug.

Shiro seemed to jump a little, his shoulders bunching up to meet his ears, and averting his gaze from Keith's shoulder.

"No. I mean yes? You're fine- I mean it's fine... rice or miso first?" he tipped the tray gently towards Keith so that he could see the range of small dishes.

Keith definitely didn't believe that his shoulder looked "fine" - it was bruised and there was still some blood that had escaped despite Shiro's ministrations - but he reached forwards to take the tray from Shiro. It wasn't just rice or miso, but also some fish, veggies and a selection of other sides. Shiro quickly left the room, returning a moment later with his own tray. They ate in relative silence, with Shiro helping Keith towards the end of his meal when Keith's arm was feeling too weak to lift the food to his mouth. When Keith really started to flag in strength again, Shiro collected the dishes and returned them to the kitchen. He then helped Keith back down under the sheets to rest, and moved to sit back in his chair when Keith grabbed him weakly.

"Shiro, no. You need to rest too." Keith stated.

"But I need to keep watch in case-" Shiro tried to explain.

"No. You said yourself: Kolivan has it under control. No come and sleep with me." Keith only realised what he had said as it left his mouth, but committed to the order anyway. He was right; Shiro needed to rest. Shiro started to blush before turning to walk around the other side of the bed and sitting with his back against the headboard.

"No. I mean under the sheets, with me." There was a pause, before Keith felt Shiro's weight leave the bed. He was about to protest again when he heard the sounds of clothes rustling and hitting the floor, and then felt the bed dip as Shiro actually lifted the sheets to crawl in after him. He waited, quietly and a little stiffly, as Shiro slowly inched closer to him. 

"This ok?" Shiro inquired once he was within a few inches of Keith. Keith simply responded by shifting his arm slightly toward Shiro to find his hand under the covers, and hold it tightly.

"That's better." Keith whispered, squeezing Shiro's hand, and getting a squeeze in response. He heard Shiro breathe in a slow, controlled manner, and decided to match his breath with Shiro's, using the slow, even breaths to calm him and lull him back to sleep.

* * *

As Shiro stirred, he could see the beginnings of the sunset filtering through his window. He rolled onto his side and stretched, reaching his arms out in front of him to tangle in the warm shirt next to him. But his hands grasped at nothing.

Shiro shot up in bed, frantically looking around the room for signs of Keith. The bedsheets were still somewhat warm, so he hadn't been gone long. He tossed the sheets aside and pulled on pants before running from his room. He was in the middle of gathering the essentials when he heard the toilet flush from his bathroom, followed by the distinct sound of someone washing their hands. He strode back to the bedroom.

“Oh, there you are Shir-OH” Keith was interrupted by Shiro wrapping his arms around Keith.

“You should have woken me. Are you ok?” Shiro breathed, pulling back slightly to check Keith over, feeling for his pulse and temperature, before pulling the shirt aside slightly to observe Keith’s wound.

“Yeah Shiro, I’m fine. I just had to pee.” Keith smiled softly at him, as if simultaneously amused and endeared by his care. “Are _you_ ok?”

“I don’t like not being able to see you.” Shiro said with zero hesitation. He watched as Keith’s eyes widened, before glancing away.

“Well I’m back, so everything is ok now. Did you sleep well?” Keith asked.

“Yes.” Shiro said with all the honesty in the world. There was something intrinsically calming of knowing that the one person you care most about was sleeping soundly by your side. “But you’re really ok? Do you need anything else.”

“I just got a 100% genuine Shiro hug, I’m pretty good right now.” Shiro heard his stomach growl “…but another meal would be nice. Healing apparently uses a lot of fuel.”

Shiro smiled, saying “you go rest again, I’ll bring you something,” before slipping away from Keith.

“Shiro I don’t think I could sleep any more if I tried. Let me help.”

Shiro was torn, but lead Keith to the kitchen and offered him a seat near the bench. Keith reached for the knife to help cut some veggies, but Shiro saw the way Keith hesitated, glancing at the knife, and instead took the knife from him gently before placing equipment for coffee making in front of him. Shiro turned on the TV for background noise whilst he cooked them dinner. Once their meals were served (a lamb stew with some rice to soak up the sauces) Shiro helped Keith from the chair and over to his couch. Shiro gently wrapped Keith in one of his blankets before settling beside him and switching the channel to watch some late-night movie. It was one they had both seen before, so the conversation turned to pointing out fun details of the movie that you only notice the 3rd time watching it, or from watching interviews with the producers and actors. After a short while, they had both finished their meals, and were simply leaning into each other as they watched the movie. Then Keith broke the silence.

“Shiro, I just wanted to say I… I’m sorry for coming here and scaring you. But /I/ was scared, and didn’t know where else to go.” He reached out of his blanket wrap to hold Shiro’s hand, stretching Shiro’s prosthetic fingers and fiddling with the intricacies of the design.

“Keith, no. I already told you. I wouldn’t have you anywhere else.” He flexed his hand, slipping his fingers between Keith’s. “I feel the most calm when I know where you are. Even moreso if you’re in my line of sight.” He leaned down, pressing his cheek against Keith’s head. Keith shifted to look up Shiro after a moment, his deep blue-purple eyes shining from the light of the now forgotten movie. The room felt hot. Shiro’s body was thrumming with energy.

“I also feel calmer with you around.” Keith whispered. “I feel safest with you.” He breathed glancing down quickly and their hands, and pausing to look at Shiro’s lips, before meeting his eyes again.

“I will always be here for you. Just don’t leave me like that again.” Shiro lowered his head to rest his forehead against Keith’s.

“God, never again.” Keith said, before tilting his head back to catch Shiro’s lips in a kiss. Shiro pressed into the kiss, slipping his other hand under Keith’s jaw to lift his face, and feeling his hammering heartbeat beneath his fingers. When they parted, a soft smile spread across Keith’s face, and Shiro could feel his own smile growing in response. They both shared a short laugh before meeting again to kiss once more. 

“So I take it you’re in no rush to get out of my stuffy little apartment?” Shiro said once they had managed to pull away from each other.

“What, and leave poor Atlas alone?” Keith teased. “No, I’m going to take as much time off as possible. Mum will have to break in to get me back.”

“Please ask her to just pick the locks. I don’t want to have to replace my door or windows.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “But you mean it? You do actually want to stay with me? This-” he gestured vaguely between them “this isn’t just some casual thing for you?”

“Shiro, how could you- No, Shiro. I’ve been thinking about doing this for a long time. Do- do you want it to be casual?” Keith sat up slightly, as if to lean away from Shiro.

“NO, Keith. No I’m the same. Been thinking of this for a long time too.” And he pulled Keith gently back towards him, kissing him gently once Keith was close enough and had tipped his head back up to meet Shiro. This time they were interupted by Shiro’s phone ringing back in his bedroom. They pulled apart, but otherwise tried to ignore the phone, instead trying to revel in these new emotions that they were experiencing and sharing together. But when the phone rang a second time, Shiro was compelled to go and answer it. When he spotted the caller ID, he laughed. 

“No way. Keith, it’s your mum.” He said into the living room after he had stepped back towards the entry to his bedroom.

There was a short pause before, “How-? There is no /possible/ way she could know about this already…is there? Shiro has she bugged your house?” Keith asked from the couch, reaching forwards to run his hand under Shiro’s coffee table in front of him.

“I don’t /think/ she has…” Shiro pondered, before finally accepting the call and holding the phone up to his ear. “Good evening Ms Kogane. Keith is safe and well.” He smile over to Keith, and received a warm, content smile in return, the light from the TV a halo around him.

Safe and well, indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! My [Twitter](https://twitter.com/RomaReads), where I have other threadfics and art.


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